Isaya 40
1 ''Faraja, faraja watu wangu,'' amesema Mungu.
Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, Saith your God.
2 ''Ongea kwa upole kwa Yerusalemu; na tangaza vita vimeisha, maana maovu yao yamesamehewa, maana alipokea mara mbili kutoka kwa mkono wa Yahwe kwa dhambi zao.''
Speak ye encouragement to Jerusalem, and declare to her, That her hard service is ended; That her iniquity is expiated; That she hath received from the hand of Jehovah Double for all her sins.
3 Sauti inalia nje, ''Katika jangwa tengeneza njia ya Yahwe; njoosha njia ya Araba katika njia kuu ya Mungu.''
A voice crieth: “Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!
4 Kila bonde litanyanyuliwa juu, kila mlima na kilima kitasawazishwa; na aridhi ya mwinuko itasawazishwa, mahali palipokwaruzwa patakuwa na usawa;
Every valley shall be exalted, And every mountain and hill be made low; The crooked shall become straight, And the rough places plain.
5 na utukufu wa Mungu utafunuliwa, na watu wote wataona kwa pamoja; maana mdomo wa Yahwe umezungumza.
For the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it!”
6 Sauti inasema, ''Lia.'' Jibu lingine, ''Kwa nini nilie?'' ''Mwili wote ni nyasi na maagano yaliyoaminika ni kama ua kwenye shamba.
A voice said, Proclaim! And I said, What shall I proclaim? All flesh is grass, And all its comeliness as the flower of the field.
7 Nyasi zinanyauka na maua yanaperuka pale Yehwe atakapo puliza punzi yake juu yake; hakika ubinadamu ni nyasi.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, When the breath of Jehovah bloweth upon it. Truly the people is grass.
8 Nyasi hunyauka, maua hupepea, lakini neno la Yahwe litasimama daima.''
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, But the word of our God shall stand forever.
9 Nenda juu ya mlima mrefu, Sayuni, mbeba taarifa njema. waambie miji ya Yuda, ''Hapa ni Mungu wako!''
Get thee up on the high mountain, O thou that bringest glad tidings to Zion; Lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest glad tidings to Jerusalem; Lift it up; be not afraid; Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
10 Angalia, Bwana Yahwe anakuja kama mpiganaji shujaa na jeshi imara linatawa juu yake. Ona, zawadi yako iko kwake, na wale walikombolewa wataenda mbele yake.
Behold, the Lord Jehovah shall come with might, And his arm shall rule for him; Behold, his reward is with him, And his recompense before him.
11 Atalilisha kundi lake kama mchungaji, Atawakusanya kondoo katika jeshi lake, na kulichukua karibu na moyo wake, kwa upole atawongoza wake kuwauuguza watoto wao.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather up the lambs in his arms, And carry them in his bosom, And gently lead the nursing ewes.
12 Ni nani aliyepima maji ya mashimo kwa mkono wake, anayepima anga kwa urefu wa mkono wake, na kuweka vumbi za nchi katika kikapu, kupima milima kwa mizani, au vilima kwa usawa?
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, And meted out the heavens with his span, And gathered the dust of the earth into a measure, And weighed the mountains in scales, And the hills in a balance?
13 Ni nani aliyeelewa akili za Yahwe, au kumuelekeza yeye kama mshauri?
Who hath searched out the spirit of Jehovah, Or, being his counsellor, hath taught him?
14 Ni kutka kwa nani alipokea maelekezo milele? Nani alikufundisha njia sahihi ya kufanya vitu, kumfundisha yeye maarifa, au kumuonyesha njia ya ufahamu?
With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, And taught him the path of justice, And taught him knowledge, And showed him the way of understanding?
15 Tazama, Mataifa ni kama tone katika ndoo, na kama mavumbi kwenye mizani; ona, na alipima kisiwa kama tundu.
Behold, the nations are as a drop from a bucket, And are accounted as the small dust of the balance; Behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing,
16 Lebanoni sio mafuta ya kutosha, wala wanyama pori wake hawatoshi kwa dhabihu ya kuteketezwa.
And Lebanon is not sufficient for fire, Nor its beasts for a burnt-offering.
17 Mataifa yote hayatochelezi mbele yake; wanachukuliwa na yeye kama hakuna kitu.
All the nations are as nothing before him; They are accounted by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
18 Ni nanibasi utayemlingalisha na Mungu? Ni kwa sanamu ipi utakayomfananisha nayo?
To whom then will ye liken God, And what likeness will ye compare unto him?
19 Sanamu! ambayo fundi ameitupa: Mfua dhahabu ameka pamoja na mikufu bandi ya fedha.
The workman casteth an image, And the smith overlayeth it with gold, And casteth for it silver chains.
20 Kuafanya sadaka hii mtu atachagua kuni ambayo haiozi; anamtafuta fundi mwenye ujuzi wa kutengeneza sanamu ambayo haitaanguka.
He that is too poor to make an oblation Chooseth a piece of wood that will not rot; He seeketh for himself a skilful artificer, To prepare an image that shall not be moved.
21 Je hamkujua? Je hamjasikia? Je hamkuambiwa tokea mwanzo? Je hamkuelewa toka misingi ya nchi?
Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have ye not considered the foundations of the earth?
22 Yeye ndiye aketie juu ya upeo wa macho ya nchi? na wenyeji wake ni kama panzi mbele yake. Akijinyoosha nje ya mbingu ni kama pazia na kutawnya nje kama hema la kuishi.
It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, And the inhabitants are to him as grasshoppers; That stretcheth out the heavens as a canopy, And spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 Anawapunguza viongozi kuwa si kitu na amewafanya viongozi wa nchi kwa sio wenye umuhimu.
That bringeth princes to nothing, And reduceth the rulers of the earth to vanity.
24 Tazama wamekuwa wagumu kuotesha; tazama wamekuwa wagumu kupanda; imekuwa ni vigumu kuchukua mzizi katika nchi, kabla ajapuliza juu yao, na wakanyauka, na upepo unawaondosha mbali kama majani.
Yea, scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, Scarcely hath their stem taken root in the ground, When He bloweth upon them and they wither, And the whirlwind beareth them away like stubble.
25 Ni nani tena utakayemfananisha na mimi, ni nani ninayefanan nae?'' amesema mtakatifu.
To whom then will ye liken me, And to whom shall I be compared? Saith the Holy One.
26 Tazama juu kwenye anga! Nani aliyeziumba nyota hizi zote? Analileta nje jeshi na anawaita kwa majina yote. Kwa ukuu wa nguvu zake na kwa uimara wa nguvu zake, hakuna hata mmoja atakayekosa.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and behold! Who hath created these? He draweth forth their host by number, He calleth them all by name; Through the greatness of his strength and the mightiness of his power, Not one of them faileth to appear.
27 Kwa nini unasema, Yakobo, na kutangaza, Israeli, ''Njia yangu imefichwa Yahwe asione, na Mungu wangu hakuwekwa wazi kuhusiana na uthibitisho wangu''?
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, “My way is hidden from Jehovah, My cause passeth by before my God”?
28 Je hakufahamu? Mungu wa milele, Yahwe, Muumbaji wa miisho ya nchi, apatwi na uchovu wala hachoki; hakuna mipaka katika ufahamu wake.
Do ye not know? Have ye not heard? Jehovah is an everlasting God, The creator of the ends of the earth; He fainteth not, nor is he weary; His understanding is unsearchable.
29 Anawapa nguvu waliochoka; na atawapa nguvu mpya waliowadhaifu.
He giveth power to the faint; To the feeble abundant strength.
30 Hata vijana wadogo watapatwa na uchovu na kuchoka, vijana wadogo watapata mashaka na kuanguka:
The youths shall faint and be weary, And the young warriors shall utterly fall.
31 Lakini wale watakao mngojea Yahwe watapewa nguvu mpya; na watapaa kwa mbawa kama malaika; watakimbia wala hawatachoka; watatembea wala hawatazimia.
But they that trust in Jehovah shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; They shall run and not be weary; They shall walk and not faint.
